Four Arrested on Meth Related Charges in Knox

Posted on Author WKVI
Nathan Vermilyer
Joshua Givens
Elizabeth Boyd
Gabriel French

Four people were arrested Saturday after officers from the Starke County Sheriff’s Department served an arrest warrant on a Knox man.

Officers arrived at 0655 S. State Road 23 in Knox to serve an arrest warrant on Gabriel French. Officers found an active methamphetamine lab at the residence. While officers were waiting for the search warrant, several other subjects arrived at the residence and were detained. While executing the search warrant, officers found several methamphetamine labs, precursors, drug paraphernalia and several hand written notes on how to manufacture methamphetamine.

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Kristopher Rogers Arrested after Home Search

Posted on Author WKVI
Kristopher Rogers

A Knox man was arrested Friday after a home search found the suspect in possession of legend drugs.

Starke County Sheriff’s Department officers and a probation officer went to the home of Kristopher Rogers and reportedly found ammunition, paraphernalia and a pill bottle with several pills, according to police. Rogers told police that he had prescriptions for the pills and that it was from three or four years ago.

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Bass Lake Resident Injured after Storm

Posted on Author WKVI

Brian Ball of Bass Lake experienced a very scary event Friday afternoon at his home. While erecting a tent in his yard, he was struck by a falling tree. Because of the force, he apparently suffered a concussion, but was not killed.

Fortunately a neighbor, Jim O’Hara, was nearby and rushed to his aid. O’Hara told WKVI News that he administered CPR twice when he didn’t detect a pulse.

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Deadline to File for Candidacy is August 1st for Town Offices

Posted on Author WKVI

North Judson and Hamlet residents wishing to file for candidacy for the position of Town Clerk-Treasurer or Town Board have until Monday, August 1st at Noon to file in the Starke County Clerk’s Office. Clerk Evelyn Skronski talks about the current filings.

“North Judson has a Clerk-Treasurer race going for the General Election right now and they also have their three Council seats. The incumbents are all signed up for that and there’s nobody running against them. Hamlet has got some races coming up for a caucus in August. The Clerk-Treasurer and the Council seats all have opposition so they’ll have to eliminate a candidate in that particular party so that they can have a ballot for the November General Election,” said Skronski.

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Golf Carts Not Allowed on the Streets in North Judson

Posted on Author WKVI

The North Judson Police Department has been receiving complaints of residents driving golf carts in town and not abiding by the traffic laws. Town Marshal, Doug Vessely, wants to remind you that the operation of golf carts within town limits is against the law. Anyone who is found driving a golf cart will be given an ordinance ticket. Officers will uphold state law that prohibits golf carts.

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Knox Community School Board Approves Agreement with Porter/Starke Services

Posted on Author WKVI
Gary Dulin, Jerry Fletcher, Harold Welter, Mary Lynn Ritchie, Kirk Bennett, Nathan Marcum, Mike Yankauskas, Superintendent A.J. Gappa

The Knox Community School Board members approved a memorandum of understanding with Porter/Starke Services at their meeting last week. Superintendent A.J. Gappa says the memorandum was possible due to the work of High School Assistant Principal, Mike Bendicsen, who sits on the Board of Porter/Starke Services.

“If they have a student who is receiving services from Porter/Starke and if the parents agree that they can, they would like to have permission to meet that student on school property,” said Mr. Gappa. “What that would do for our students is save travel time from possibly going to Valparaiso or meeting out of school time. We’re just trying to make it as easy as possible for our students to meet with their counselors.”

Bass Lake Summer Splash Begins Friday

Posted on Author WKVI

The Bass Lake Summer Splash begins Friday with the Fishing Derby at 8:00 a.m. and Bass Lake Idol Contest at 7:00 p.m. at the Bass Lake Property Owners Association Building.

Some other highlights of this year’s event include the 5K Run/Walk, Shriner’s and Lions Club breakfast events, the Business Expo, Cover Your Bass Contest, Car Show, Decorated Boat Parade, the main parade, and the fireworks show on the lake. We’ll have more details on those events later this week.

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Indiana Unemployment Up in June

Posted on Author WKVI
Indiana Workforce Development

The State’s unemployment rate increased slightly in June. It inched up from 8.2% to 8.3%. Indiana, though, is still below the national average of 9.2%.

Starke County moved into the number five unemployment slot with the June report. Starke has an unemployment rate of 10.3%. That’s up slightly from the May report.

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Nunsense-The Mega Musical Takes to the Stage

Posted on Author WKVI
Taylor Sears, Becky Lichty and Kathy Overmyer visited the WKVI Studios yesterday to talk about Nunsense-The Mega Musical

The second performance of Nunsense-The Mega Musical will be held tomorrow afternoon at the Argos High School Auditorium. This is the first year the performances will move around. The first five will be at Argos, then there will be two performances in Bremen, two in North Judson, and the final two in the newly remodeled Culver High School Auditorium.

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Week in Review for July 18th-22nd, 2011

Posted on Author WKVI

Here is just some of the news that made the news in the Kankakee Valley this week:

Starke County Prosecutor Nicholas Bourff said that the death of a three-year-old Knox boy is still under investigation. Bourff has not yet received the autopsy results from the St. Joseph County Coroner’s office.

The Starke County Courthouse elevator is still out of order. A few more things need to be done to make the required ADA upgrades and the elevator will be operational after a state inspector gives the notice to proceed with operation. Continue reading →

Eastern Pulaski School Superintendent Arrested on OVWI Charge

Posted on Author WKVI
Dr. Robert Klitzman
Dr. Robert Klitzman

The Superintendent at the Eastern Pulaski School Corporation was recently arrested on a charge of Operating a Vehicle While Intoxicated.

It has been reported that Dr. Robert Klitzman was pulled over on State Road 29 north of Michigantown after swerving left of center. An officer from the Clinton County Sheriff’s Department reported that Klitzman failed a sobriety test and registered a blood alcohol content of .10%. He was taken to the Clinton County Jail and the Prosecutor has filed a charge of Operating a Vehicle While Intoxicated charge against Dr. Klitzman.

Bass Lake Man Injured Seriously By Falling Tree

Posted on Author WKVI

A freakish storm sent a Bass Lake man to IU Health-Starke County this afternoon. The man, who was identified by a neighbor, as Brian Ball. Mr. Ball was setting up a tent in his backyard when a tree fell on him. Extensive damage was also done to the house, that is located at 5840 S. 600 E.

Jim O’Hara, the neighbor, said he heard a tree crack when strong winds came through, and then he noticed the tree on Mr. Ball. O’Hara raced to the man, who was screaming that his head was injured. At that point the man passed out. After detecting no pulse, Mr. O’Hara started administering CPR, until Ball was apparently brought back to life.

Mrs. O’Hara meanwhile had called 9-1-1 and EMS personnel transported Ball to the hospital in Knox. His condition is unknown.

Jack Haut Found Guilty of Reckless Homicide

Posted on Author WKVI

The second day of the trial of Jack Haut in Starke Circuit Court ultimately ended in a verdict for one count of Reckless Homicide, a Class C felony after his truck struck the motorcycle of Tom White, killing him. After a brief deliberation, the 12-person jury returned with a guilty verdict, and Haut’s sentencing is set for August 17th at 11:00 a.m.

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Johnson County Man Arrested in Starke County after Escaping Home Detention

Posted on Author WKVI

A Greenwood, Indiana man was arrested in Starke County Sunday after cutting off his electronic monitoring device attached to his ankle and fleeing his home.

An anonymous tip was called into the Starke County Sheriff’s Department that Zackary Schacht was in the area on a warrant out of Johnson County. Officers went to the residence in question and found Schacht at the residence. Police announced their presence and Schacht ran. K9 officer, Chad Keen, warned Schacht to stop or the K9 would be deployed. Schacht did not yield to the warning and K9 Marco was given the command to apprehend the suspect. The K9 stopped Schacht from fleeing. Schacht was then taken to IU Health Starke Hospital for treatment. When he was medically cleared, he was transported to the Starke County Jail on the active warrant and was charged with Resisting Law Enforcement.

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Electric Customers Urged to Conserve

Posted on Author WKVI

Kankakee Valley REMC and NIPSCO customers are being asked to conserve electricity as much as possible.

REMC has been working with its large power customers by implementing agreements that allow for interruption of service. Residential and small commercial customers are asked to voluntarily limit the use of electricity as much as possible. All load management problems are being used to reduce demand. Turn off all unnecessary lights, delay the use of major appliances until late at night or early morning hours and set thermostats no lower than 78 degrees.

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Starke County 9-1-1 Fund Losing Money

Posted on Author WKVI

The Starke County Council members heard from Starke County Sheriff’s Matron, Chris Smith, at their meeting this week.  In her report, Smith said the 9-1-1 fund should be solvent for the remainder of the year.  She quoted a figure of $57,826 in the fund.

The bad news is that long term, the fund may go into the “red”.  One problem is that the 9-1-1 fund is financed primarily by land line telephone customers.  With so many people switching to cell phone service and abandoning land line service in their home, the same fee is not being received.  As a matter of fact, no one seems to know how much the cell phone companies should be paying.

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North Judson Town Board to Advertise Budget; Sewer Separation Project to Start Next Week

Posted on Author WKVI

The North Judson Town Board approved a request to send the 2012 budget out for advertising. The State allowed the Board to increase the General Fund by 2.9% and that is what the Board will be advertising for this year’s budget. The Board is seeking $618,610 for the General Fund.

After the budget is advertised, the budget will be sent to the Auditor’s office and the County Council will review and approve or reject the budget in October. If all is approved, the Board will adopt the budget in October.

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Knox School Board Approves Textbook Fees

Posted on Author WKVI

The Knox Community School Board approved textbook rental fees for the upcoming school year. Superintendent, A.J. Gappa said the prices have decreased at the Elementary School. The lowest textbook price is $70 at the third grade level and the highest price is $99 at the fifth grade level.

“And the difference is because of the cost of the textbooks and supplies that each grade level receives,” said Gappa. “In comparison to last year, book rental fees are slightly down. The main reason for that is that the State has dropped cursive writing as a required standard. Even though we are still going to teach cursive writing as part of the curriculum and instruction that is given by the teachers, we didn’t find it necessary to buy a consumable workbook that went with each grade level.”

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